SC SC - Michael Woodward, 9, Fort Jackson, 23 Apr 1972

Michael was last seen playing in the yard of his home on April 23, 1972. He was last seen wearing brown striped pants and blue tennis shoes. Michael sustained an injury which may have left him blind in his left eye.

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After five years of reviewing the file, O’Connor received permission from Fort Jackson commanders to reopen the case. That allowed him to enlist the help of Military Police Investigator Carlos Monday. O’Connor was able to get the case listed on the National Crime Information Center database and with the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, which means that the case is visible to law enforcement agencies across the nation.

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Michael’s parents are no longer alive, but investigators have been working with other family members who remain hopeful about getting closure. His uncle lives in Greer and provided a DNA sample.

Michael is the only missing person in the history of Fort Jackson, O'Connor said. He said he hopes that people who were on or near Fort Jackson at the time still remember the case.

“It was a pretty significant event, even though the amber alert system didn’t exist back then,” O’Connor said. “But for the installation it was a pretty significant event.”

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jinkz1979 said:

I would like to know more about the eye injury? May have left him blind?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

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FORT JACKSON, SC (WIS) -

Fort Jackson's only known missing person case has been reopened 42 years after a boy went missing while his dad was mowing the grass outside his home in the officers' housing area.

The following was first published in the Fort Jackson Leader on May 29 and later provided to the media in a press release:
By Susanne Kappler
What started out as an ordinary spring Sunday on Fort Jackson ended up as a day shrouded in mystery that still occupies hearts and minds 42 years later.
On April 23, 1972, Maj. Joe Woodward, then the staff judge advocate on post, was mowing the grass outside his home in the officers' housing area. His 9-year-old son, Michael, was playing outside nearby. At some point, just before noon, Michael disappeared without a trace. The case of the missing boy attracted widespread media attention, but despite the efforts of local and national law enforcement agencies, Michael was never found and the case went cold.
Forty-two years after Michael's disappearance, the case is open again because of the perseverance of two former investigators and the insistence of Patrick O'Connor, deputy director for emergency services.

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• Michael J. Woodward – The Charley Project
  
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